The Pennsylvania First
Signs program was launched in April 2005 in collaboration
with the University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Department of
Public Welfare, the Pennsylvania Center for Autism and
Development Disability Research and Epidemiology (CADDRE), Chester
County Intermediate Unit, and The Children’s Hospital of
Philadelphia. Here we provide information about
the program, links to articles in the press, and numerous
Web-related disability resources for Pennsylvania.

Increase knowledge of early warning signs among pediatric
practitioners in Pennsylvania to raise their level of awareness

Improve frequency and quality of screening young children

Facilitate timely referral of children in Pennsylvania to
local Early Intervention programs

Lower the age at which children are identified with
autism and other developmental disorders in Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania First Signs program consists of:

Press campaign

Mailings to more than 10,000 health care providers and
early childhood educators inviting them to participate in a
training seminar, receive continuing education credits, and
a First Signs Screening Kit

First Signs is presenting their three-hour
training course, “Improving Developmental
Screening Practices for Young Children with Autism & Other
Developmental Disorders” in six regional locations
throughout Pennsylvania:

April 28, 2005: Scranton and Malvern. For
more information, click here.

Health care professionals, including
pediatricians, family physicians, nurse practitioners, physician
assistants, and pediatric specialists, as well as clinicians and
early childhood educators are invited to participate. Attendees
will receive a complementary First Signs
Screening Kit. The University of Pennsylvania School of
Medicine designates this educational activity for a maximum of
3.25 category 1 credits toward the AMA Physician’s Recognition
Award.

First Signs is also offering three
train-the-trainer workshops to Early Intervention
professionals who are interested in enhancing their local Child
Find and outreach efforts. First Signs will provide participants
with tools and tips to educate medical professionals about best
practices in screening and referral of young children at risk
for autism and other developmental disorders. Attendees will
leave with a plan they can put into action, as well as handouts
and access to PowerPoint presentations. Topics include:
successful ways to achieve community outreach, scheduling and
planning meetings, and measuring results. Attendees are required
to attend a First Signs regional training before attending a
train-the-trainer workshop. CEUs are available.
First Signs
train-the trainer workshops will be offered in three regional
locations throughout Pennsylvania:

The evaluation study is
being conducted by First Signs and the University of
Pennsylvania.

Evaluation questions

Are we
influencing pediatric practice in screening and referral?

Are we improving screening by health care providers?

Are we improving referral of children to Pennsylvania Early
Intervention programs?

Evaluation strategy

Compare results from pre- and post-tests to measure
knowledge gained from a single training session

Monitor
visits to dedicated Pennsylvania Web pages

Compare
annual changes in referral rates and
sources to Pennsylvania Early Intervention

Review a random sample of medical records from selected
pediatric offices for documentation of developmental
screening before training and six, 12, and 24 months
post-training to assess short and long-term change in
physician screening behavior

Evaluate changes in screening and referral practices two
years after training through questionnaires and assessment
of referral patterns